The present invention relates generally to instant messaging systems and more particularly to correlating responses to particular questions in an instant messaging system.
Conventional internet-based instant messaging applications operate under the general principle of appending the last statement in a conversation between at least two people to the end of a list of previous statements. These statements collectively are made up of multiple questions, responses, and general remarks.
Under ideal conditions each question posted in the conversation is followed directly by a corresponding answer. However ideal scenarios rarely occur; more often a second question is posted before the first response. The resulting list of statements therefore contains an ambiguity; two questions and a single answer. Is the answer responsive to the first or second question?
Until now, the only solution was for the parties participating in the conversation to provide supplemental statements to clarify the ambiguity. These additional statements unduly lengthen the conversation and would be unnecessary.